Wednesday, April 23, 2014

2014 has been humming a long from a retail standpoint. Nothing major has happened this year (IMO), but big news has just emerged about three prominent national retailers coming to the neighborhood (via Chicago Real Estate Daily):

A trio of national retailers — Banana Republic, Lululemon and Container Store — are moving into the Roosevelt Collection shopping center in the South Loop, a big casualty of the real estate crash that is steadily filling up.

Totaling 37,000 square feet, the new leases will bring the 330,000-square-foot retail development's occupancy to 79 percent, up from just 23 percent when Chicago-based McCaffery Interests Inc. and a partner bought it three years ago.

Lululemon has long been rumored and hinted at based on marketing collateral that was floating around on the interwebs way back in early 2012. We even heard stories of leasing agents at Roosevelt Collection not so subtly stating that a popular "fruit" yoga/athletic retailer would be opening up shortly. Looks like it took some time for the ink to dry, but glad to see this coming to fruition.

Container Store Group Inc. is the Roosevelt Collection's biggest new tenant, with a lease for more than 26,000 square feet, according to a recent McCaffery leasing document. Apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. leased more than 2,900 square feet there, the document shows.

A McCaffery spokeswoman also confirmed that Banana Republic, a unit of San Francisco-based Gap Inc., leased 7,500 square feet in the shopping center at 150 W. Roosevelt Road, west of Clark Street. She declined to confirm the names of the other new tenants or discuss their leases.

Sloopin thoughts: so you're telling us there are more stores?

The leasing activity should attract other national tenants that may not immediately think of the South Loop as a retail destination, said John Vance, a vice president at Chicago-based Stone Real Estate Corp. who wasn't involved in the deals.Sloopin thoughts: It feels like we're already seeing this with The Maxwell development and a lot of other interest and activity west of the Chicago River on Roosevelt.

Meanwhile, the McCaffery leasing document shows the company wants to build a 355-unit apartment tower on the northwest corner of the property. Further details about the new residential building were unavailable. The property currently includes 342 apartments.Sloopin thoughts: This isn't new news, but sounds like they're looking to move quicker than we expected.

Seems like some good momentum and seems like a good mix of national and local retailers at Roosevelt Collection. What do you think? Is this a good thing?